


Ocean Hope, Earthen Dreams

by LesBeLexa



Category: Siren (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Lesbian Character, Mermaids, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Was supposed to be smut but became so pure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2019-06-14 19:42:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15396015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LesBeLexa/pseuds/LesBeLexa
Summary: In the weeks following the events of mermaids arriving in Bristol Cove, her relationship no longer seeming so sturdy, and the deepening feelings for Ryn, Maddie Bishop discovers peace in the turmoil, and clarity where all else seems murky while strengthening her bond with Ryn.





	Ocean Hope, Earthen Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic after a long hiatus, but I fell in love with these two on the show. There was supposed to be sin, but it turned into something so pure and beautiful (as Raddie is) and left it as is. 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy it.
> 
> Mood Music: When The Darkness Comes by Grace Fulmer

Life is comprised of moments. Small brushes in time that begin as seconds and transpire to fill the spaces with words, touches, hopes. Moments were what drew Maddie Bishop down a turquoise path she’d never imagined. Moments, looks and glances stolen and held in in lapses of silence where so much was said that she swore in all actuality she may have been screaming. Moments that stole her breath and left her knees weak, pulse spiking, head spinning. 

 

Moments she’d never had until the moment she saw the vision of a mermaid flash across a screen and logic and reality warred. 

 

Ryn should not have been possible. She defied all of the laws of what was true and what Maddie had known her entire life. In more ways than one. In ways that she could never have imagined. For Maddie Bishop life had been simple, without the complexities and questions that were posed in science, in her life. . .in her relationship. 

 

Anyone else would have been jealous of the way that Ben had fawned over Ryn leaving them neglected, but Maddie had not called a lull in their relationship because of that. It had not even been because he’d put himself, Ryn, her father, the /town/ of Bristol Cove in danger on a vigilante mission that was so unlike him she barely recognized the man he was becoming. And certainly not because he’d placed himself in harm’s way asking Ryn to sing her song to him, knowing where it could lead. A dark path of madness and obsession that frightened even himself. Frightened Ryn who’d had no idea what her song could do, innocent of any malicious intent. Like an addict that needed a fix, like Maddie’s /mother/ sacrificing her love for a new high.

 

No, none of this had truly led to the distance between them even if each may have been a small nudge in that direction. . .and she’d broken the pact she’d not only made with her father, but that which she’d made with herself. Never to lie. She loved him, deeply. Of that she had no doubt. 

 

She had simply come to realize that he was not the only one that was deeply rooted within her heart.

 

And now, a month later, she stood staring out at the waters she no longer knew, salty breeze grazing over her skin as the lighthouse extended its loving reach to light the distance of the dusky shores so that any ships might find their way home in the darkness. Maddie had never given any thought to it before, how eerily beautiful it was, how symbolic. She fought away the thoughts of her mother, of all she’d learned of herself, of how sometimes shadows are better left to play in the dark where no light can shine upon the truths they shroud. Nothing was certain anymore. 

 

Life was no longer simple, and all she had were moments. 

 

Moments of utter clarity in which she did know herself, know who she was, and what

she wanted. Her lashes fluttered as lids closed and she basked in the ghost of a touch on her shoulders, sweeping fingertips that left her skin electrified as her pulse quickened. Purity just like that of a child as she felt Ryn’s head rest against her back. She had sensed Maddie. The woman never knew how. Whether it was by footsteps detected with unusually keen hearing, or by the scent of her skin that she could tell the mermaid was drawing in with each breath. 

 

Maddie is love. 

 

It was a phrase she’d grown accustomed to hearing, and yet the meaning was beginning to evolve, or perhaps it had always been there. Evident in the closeness that was instinctive, whereas with Ben it had been cultivated and in the end it had felt more one sided than a joint effort. It was because of Ryn that she realized it. There was something inside of her that was immediately drawn to the mermaid. Not because of her song, as Ben had been. Or her beauty as others might have been. Not even the innocence and reliance on Maddie to teach her everything that she had never known in the wild blue of the deep. . It was her soul. Something of the untamed inside of her called to the wild within Maddie. 

 

Those exploring fingertips brushing along Maddie’s neck bringing to mind the first night Ryn had touched her in this way. It had been partial fear that made her heart pound in her chest, that was what she’d told herself but it was only half true. Even now, the touch still had the ability to make a pleasant cascade down the marine worker’s spine.

 

“You are cold?” Came the whisper of a question in the lilt of an accent that brought a smile to Maddie’s lips as her eyes finally opened and she turned slowly to face the shorter woman. Always the observant one. Everything was so new, and Ryn was constantly learning. Finding a new discovery at every turn. This one, Maddie already knew was the rise of goosebumps on her flesh at Ryn’s touch, the rising of fine hairs. 

 

“No,” she whispered softly in return. “Not cold. . .just—um,” Maddie began, attempting to search for words to explain what she was feeling and for once found that it was more difficult than it had been in the past. To explain love, trust, belief, what was real and what was not, grief. She treasured those moments as well. “Sometimes when people touch each other in a certain way, the body— it um. . .it creates these sensations to show that the person likes the touch.” 

 

         Those vivid eyes highlighted in mere seconds by the light cast from the lighthouse before it continued its circumference told Maddie that Ryn was absorbing the information, sorting through it and she waited patiently as she always did. 

 

“Maddie likes when Ryn touches,” she said finally, looking up at Maddie and the woman smiled and nodded slowly. 

 

“Yes, Maddie likes it very much.” 

 

This seemed to please the mermaid, smile ghosting on her lips, dark hair glossy in the moonlight before she glanced out at the floating lanterns on the water. Water that Maddie knew called to her, though she rarely went out as she used to for the change was painful, transitioning from one part of herself to the other, especially with the length in between visits to the water. She also knew that swims made her think of Donna, her sister. Lost to a bullet that should never have been fired. By human weakness and sadness, silent war raged and over before it had begun because of the others who lived beneath the placid stillness that the moon gazed down upon on this night. They would not look for Ryn, but the mermaid still did not desire to tempt fate. 

 

It gave further gravity to what they were about to do. 

 

Maddie’s fingers brushed over the birthmark beneath the porcelain jawline, almost absently, unaware that she was doing so. Perhaps it was as much for her own comfort as it was for Ryn’s, “We don’t have to do this, you know.” 

 

Ryn’s eyes returned to hers, lingering silence once again detailing that she was deciphering the words and their syllables, creating the beginnings of her own before her lips parted, keen gaze holding Maddie’s, “No. I—need to do this. I do not fear the water. And Maddie— you— are teaching me to be human, but you said. . .” Her voice trailed off as she searched for the words and Maddie smiled. 

 

“I said I wanted to learn what you were like out there too. That I wanted to know all. . .” 

 

“. . .all of Ryn.” 

 

Maddie nodded, voice soothing, “Because I want you to know that I see you as you. Not as human, not as mermaid. You.” 

 

Ryn stared at her, large eyes so wide and full of wonder and understanding simultaneously. Like the sea itself was iridescent in her gaze and Maddie felt once again that sensation that it was just them in the world, that truth passed between their minds, love between their souls, and passion in their hearts. 

 

After Maddie had left Ben to take some time apart, Ryn had deserted him as well for his own good, knowing that she was not good for him, not until he’d dealt with how her song had affected him. At first she’d lived with Helen, acclimating further to the world around her, but with everything that had happened in Bristol Cove and the release of mermaid footage Helen and Maddie had come to the conclusion that Ryn may be safer away from the heart of town and the prying eyes of tourists -that had increased ten fold with the release of the footage- and residents -including Ben’s father- alike, hence the little house on the water by the lighthouse when the mermaid wasn’t with Helen helping at the store. Ryn didn’t mind the temporary solitude and Maddie admired that, but she still came out to see her every single day, especially with the return of her mother. 

 

That thought was immediately cast aside, for there was no room for conflicting emotions and turmoil here. 

 

Maddie had continued teaching Ryn about humanity, about things in her world that she’d almost begun to take for granted until Ryn’s arrival. And in turn, the mermaid had begun to teach her about the world that Maddie had always loved, about her life beneath the waves. Cultures of her people. What certain gestures meant, what sounds meant. They had both learned so much of each other. . .and Maddie’s love had only grown and deepened. 

 

Before she’d gone out to the lighthouse on this night, her father had given her a knowing look. 

 

“Are you sure you should be spending so much time with her?” 

 

“I’m one of the few people she has. One of the reasons she stayed,” Maddie had answered, knowing the reasoning was flimsy. 

 

Her father knew it too, “You know what I mean. You and Ben. . .you still haven’t worked out what’s going on between you two and— I’ve seen the way she looks at you, the way you look at her. I just want you to be careful.” 

 

She’d smiled at him, “I know. I’m being careful. I promise.” 

 

And she was. This was just for learning, she told herself. Something to truly solidify them. Ben in his grief at one time had called her people animals, and Ryn while easily forgiving had not forgotten it. And Maddie had not forgotten the almost predatory instinct with which Ryn had attacked Ben in the water after she’d changed. The way the sea lions had reacted to her, though now they basked in her touch. And Ryn in her true form, had also saved Ben from near suicide. Maddie was the only one whom had not witnessed Ryn in her true form, only on screen, and she supposed it was something that had strengthened them. Because she hadn’t seen the mermaid. Only the woman. Only the heart. 

 

Only the soul. 

 

The Haida believed that the Raven -of whom’s feather she had adorning her breast in ink- was a complex reflection of one’s own self, and on this night in the light of the moon, the waxing and waning of the lighthouse’s beam, and the soft glow of the lanterns, both she and Ryn would face their own reflections mirrored in the water, mirrored in each other. 

 

“Then we will go to the water,” Ryn confirmed. 

 

Backing away from her, she began to undress and Maddie forced herself to look away as she did the same, her hair intricately braided, though she’d allowed the thick tresses to remain freely loose at her back. Ryn enjoyed running her fingers through the fine coils. The night air greeted the rest of her flesh and the marine worker shivered once more. 

 

“I’ll go first, okay?” She told Ryn and waited for the nod of agreement from the now naked woman who was not ashamed of her own nudity, for to her it was as commonplace as breathing. 

 

Maddie moved with a slow grace to the water’s edge, wading out farther and farther until she could no longer stand. The water had been cold when her feet first touched it, drawing a gasp. It was summer, but too far out and the water could be too cold for this, but they only needed to be far enough for Ryn to swim, and slowly her body acclimated to the abrupt shift in temperature. Ryn had gone to the pier where the water was already deep, for she needed immediate submersion in order for the transition to be over as quickly as possible as the human part of her shed away, transforming into the sea predator she was. Shifting, realigning, bones altered, nails hardening and sharpening into talon like claws, skin melding to create fins and webbing. 

 

It hurt Maddie to know the pain, but Ryn had promised her it was only momentary. 

 

She tread on the water, allowing trust to conquer fear. The same trust she’d taught Ryn. Dark eyes flickering down, lanterns on the water highlighting the dark depths beneath. All was silent until she felt the brush against her feet, turning in time to see the beautiful silhouette of Ryn as she moved effortlessly through the water, slowly surfacing to break through, skin now that of the color of her eyes which were more predatory, practically glowing, skin shimmering with an almost bioluminescence of tiny embedded scales. Her features were sharper, cheekbones impossibly higher than they were when she was on land, eyebrows practically nonexistent. 

 

Maddie’s heart raced as they stared at each other from several feet away, Ryn’s head tilting, a soft clicking sound coming from her throat followed by the most beautiful pulsing melody through parted lips that revealed the rows of dangerously sharp teeth. Not the song that had ensnared Ben, but almost like a whale, communicating, for she did not use words in this form. She lingered there, watching Maddie, as if giving her time and Maddie took it, marveling at what she already knew was true yet captivated still. 

 

“It’s okay,” she whispered finally. “You can come closer. — I’m not afraid.” 

 

The moment the words were released, Ryn disappeared beneath the water, dorsal fins coiling as she submerged before her tails splashed against the liquid surface. In seconds she was circling Maddie’s form, slowly, closing in, hair shimmering in the moonlight. 

 

         When she surfaced this time it was as if she desired their skin to merge as well, their fronts brushing against each other so that Maddie felt the cool smoothness of her skin as she ascended, breaking surface less than half an inch away, so close that the woman could see every fine detail. Tentatively she reached out to touch that impossibly high cheekbone and there came the sound again, a soft whistling and click. Affection. Ryn had told her the sound meant affection. 

 

She gasped when she felt the cool touch of webbed hands against her torso, the rush of current beneath her feet spun by the waving of Ryn’s fin keeping her upright. They bobbed there, exploring each other through new eyes and and Maddie felt desire pool in the pit of her stomach. 

 

“You. Are. Beautiful,” she whispered softly as her fingertips brushed over the mermaid’s chest and Ryn moved closer so that it was difficult to breathe, moreso when she rested her head against Maddie’s shoulder, soft clicking and whistling pulses escaping. Affection, blatant display that it was so strong aggression could not be shown. Submission.

 

The mermaid’s gesture of trust, belief, love. 

 

Tears stung Maddie’s eyes as she reached to brush fingers through the wet strands of dark hair as the soft whistle echoed in the night and she rested her head against Ryn’s. They rested in moments. Moments of Maddie familiarizing herself with Ryn’s anatomy as Ryn learned hers in the light of the moon and flashes of the lighthouse’s beacon in an almost haunting reverie, having seen Maddie naked only once in embrace Ben in the shower. Each touch, nuzzle, left her body humming, and her lungs constricted. 

 

Never had she felt closer to anyone, bound on a cellular level for which there were no words in any language. That of her own, or Ryn’s.

 

When Ryn pulled away it was only to lift her webbed hand, inviting Maddie to place her palm against the mermaid’s as water trickled down their arms, returning to their home like drops of whispers before Ryn was slowly pulling her as the mermaid sank beneath the water once more. But this time Maddie went with her as the human drew in a breath and allowed herself to succumb to the embrace of the sea. 

 

         The salt stung her eyes, but they adjusted in the clear waters with the light of the lanterns casting visibility over the sleek form of the mermaid as she slowly circled her human counterpart, body curling around the naked form, arms slipping beneath Maddie’s to wrap around her torso from behind to gently swim with her before releasing and circling, nuzzling now and then as she passed, haunting melodic tones echoing even in the water, reminding Maddie much of the whales she loved. 

And then her heart felt as though it stopped. Because she recognized what Ryn was doing. 

 

The mating dance. 

 

Air began to call to her lungs and as if the mermaid knew, she swam towards Maddie, caressing the features of the female, sea against earth, before she moved closer and pressed her lips against the human’s, kissing her even as she imparted life giving air into her lungs. 

 

There, in the secret world beneath the waves, Maddie Bishop lived within a moment. One in which she’d never felt more alive and yet simultaneously aware of her own mortality.

 

She lived in a moment in which love found her in ocean hope and earthen dreams.  

       

 

 


End file.
